My plain guide to efficiency

Or you should be lazy to be efficient

The short answer is - laziness and being bored of doing the same boring thing several times.

To be more precise, this is a simple list of rules I try to follow more or less:

Do not waste time in vain. It usually means false friends, useless social interaction, buying commercial bullshit. If you have a friend you want to spend quality time with - do it. But never waste time just for sake of being cool / being afraid to be alone / being trendy / because my friend does it. I do not recommend isolation, but just be there. Do not be a shadow. Be yourself. Be real;

Never do the same thing again. I do not mean tedious things, you will end up doing anyway (commute, chores, boring parts of code impossible to automate etc). I mean philosophically - if there is a some kind of issue, try to always solve it on +1 complexity level, i.e. solve a more general type of such issue and then use deduction instead of induction. Life works in mysterious ways, and therefore the only way to be prepared is to shoot for the moon. Also this implies thinking about edge cases and solving them in advance;

Always do everything your way. Not in a stupid way of course. If there is some king of practice that life wants to impose on you - study it, understand it, dissect it, make it your own. The first rule of best practices - always use them wisely;

Early to bed early to rise. Stick to some kind of regime best suited for you. Sleep well. Organism is a clever thing - it likes stability (yes, and I believe that you are sometimes but a passive passenger in your flesh suit that has evolved for billions for years);

Ventilate the premises well. It is not about O2 concentration. It is about CO2 concentration. Having some sort of proper ventilation helps. It is better to be in cold and dressed, than in warm but fuzzy;

Be proactive and open, share. Usually devil is in the details, but actively looking for these details helps. Studying in advance also helps;

Do not let sadness or depression let you done. It happens - just entertain yourself or get distracted. Sleeping helps;

Work a lot;

Tired - invest in something less tiresome instead of lingering. Tired of working? Go for a walk. Clean up. Wash the dished. Do less difficult work (e.g. write blog);

Always think about your / your family best interest / path. Your company does not give a crap about you. Same thing about the majority of so-called "friends". Be real. Be cynical;

Help others. But do not do anything INSTEAD of them. Never do other people's job / write code for them. They will abuse your services, learn nothing and become more obnoxious. I DO NOT mean that helping is bad. I mean that provide assistance / advice / examples - but never pull the final trigger for someone. Agency and responsibility are to be deserved and respected;

Do not be a dick. Or follow an "isophallic" lifestyle - do not try to move the mountains unless they move you. But in case you are trying to fuck someone or something up - prepare to commit yourself to the cause and go till the end;